September 12, 2011 — Inspection equipment provider Rudolph Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:RTEC) shipped the 1000th NSX Inspection System from its Bloomington, MN manufacturing facility. The NSX inspects wafer bumps, wafer-level packages (WLP), micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) devices, and more.
The first 100 NSX systems were sold between 1997 and 2000 by August Technology Corporation (acquired by Rudolph in 2006). Doug Larsen, mechanical engineer on the original NSX-80 and current Rudolph employee, says that the automated macro inspection systems had to perform to meet customer expectations, and move from purchase order to installation on-time.
Each new NSX model for complex semiconductor back-end processes targets reduced cost of ownership (COO) and better production yields. The design was adjusted to inspect WLP, microbumps, MEMS, and LED wafers. Over 150 NSX Systems perform probe mark inspection (PMI), and more than that are inspecting bumps. Other applications include 100% inspection for automotive semiconductor makers.
The NSX 320 debuted with its first order in June 2011, optimized for advanced packaging processes that use through silicon vias (TSV) for 3D packaging.
Rudolph Technologies Inc. designs, develops, manufactures and supports defect inspection, process control metrology, and data analysis systems and software used by semiconductor device manufacturers. Additional information can be found on the company’s website at www.rudolphtech.com.
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